CLNR #3 on its way.......

[FoxKat]

I'm fuming right now. I'll fix this. Work with me. Please check your private messages.

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[CaptainSS]

Verizon made me "Fumey" too - It's a shame. Been with them since Bell Atlantic/ Bell Mobile (1987). The "Bag Lady" used to come to our office in Chesterbrook at the corp center and we'd gather around to see the latest Car Phones then Bag phones.
I remember asking her about these "new" fangled free standing phones you can put in your pocket and she said, "They'll never go anywhere, No Voltage. Can't get reception. Your car phone is like 4 volts and these things are like 1/32nd of a volt".
Seems like a long time ago.. Imagine - She made House calls! Now if Verizon came to my house it would probably be a hit squad.
Anyway......

 

[FoxKat]

Verizon made me "Fumey" too - It's a shame. Been with them since Bell Atlantic/ Bell Mobile (1987). The "Bag Lady" used to come to our office in Chesterbrook at the corp center and we'd gather around to see the latest Car Phones then Bag phones.
I remember asking her about these "new" fangled free standing phones you can put in your pocket and she said, "They'll never go anywhere, No Voltage. Can't get reception. Your car phone is like 4 volts and these things are like 1/32nd of a volt"......

Well, she was obviously very wrong on many counts, not the least of which was that they'll never catch on (lol)! OMG, could you imagine if there were still only car and bag phones? We'd still see phone booths, another death due to cell phones.

To clarify for everyone, she was mostly wrong regarding the 'volts' comment. She was only nearly right in the values she mentioned. Cell phones, when first introduced for cars communicated with 5 watts (not volts), of transmission power. This was the case for all car phones and also continued into the so-called 'bag-phones'. The original car phones were powered with the car's own 12 volt systems (actually 13.8 volt lead-acid batteries), and which have far more available current (amps), than these phones (radios), could ever need.

When the transition to bag-phones was made, they were simply full car phone installation kits with full sized handsets, cradles for the handset to snap into, and fold-out car phone antennas packed into a shoulder pack, and with a smaller 'gel-cell' 12 volt lead-acid battery to supply the necessary power as required by these high power car installation phone systems. So even the bag-phones were full 5 watt transmission powered systems.

At that time, cellular towers were few and far between and so the car phones required large externally mounted antennas, either mounted on the front or rear windshield or on fixed (non opening), side widows, or mounted onto the meal of the fenders or roof of the car. The car phone's also therefore required higher transmission power to reach these distant antenna towers so that the signal could be kept strong and so the calls could hopefully not be interrupted. This was a big problem in more rural areas, where hills and valleys, as well as other natural and man-made obstructions created 'dead zones'. These early phones were analog, so as the signal was strong the audio was crisp and clear, but as the signal weakened the sound was overcome by static and eventually the calls often ended abruptly (Can you hear me now?).

When the first totally portable hand held phones were introduced, the Motorola 8000X they were reduced power as compared to the car installs and bag-phones, I think they were 2 watts, but still much more powerful than cell phones of today. They were large, frequently compared to the size of the common building brick (hence the nickname 'brick-phone'), weighed nearly 2 pounds, took 10 hours to charge and provided talk times of only 30 minutes, with less talk time the longer the phone was on stand by. The cellular network was growing and so there were more towers but they were still very sparse by today's standards. Let's not forget they only made and received voice phone calls.

By contrast today, cellular towers are everywhere, multiple carriers and shared towers, and so since they are much more relatively close to the user the phone's now operate at much lower power, which therefore reduces the size needed for the battery and means they can be much smaller. Today smartphones are operating at a maximum 300 milliwatts though most often output much less, with as low as 100 milliwatts. This range of power is only 6% of the early car phone's power output at its highest, and as little as 2% at its lowest. This has not only reduced the battery size but also the transmitters, antenna and overall package size to the slim, almost totally screen phones of today.

The young of today just don't know how good they have it. They can thank Motorola's Martin Cooper and the rest of the team for developing these amazing devices through the work they did for the military, which opened up the industry for what we have today.

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[CaptainSS]

It will be hard to discern (with cell phones) what period we will look back on and say "Those were the good ol' days". It will probably be an individual decision based on a coupling of disparate factors.
I enjoyed my Motorola StarTac days. Reception and service were great because of where I lived and the phone was Top of the Heap with Cool Factor. Never been equaled ( the first Razr was the closest).
Now (IMO) the Fun has been replaced my necessity and the "relationship" between customer and provider - strained for many reasons.
Times change and so do trends - often times not for the better.
Now, it is almost impossible to cut the ties and roll back the clock when it comes to most technology let alone the "demon pocket vibrator".
I used to Love having a cool cell phone..... Now I hate my pocket computer that occasionally makes or receives a phone call.
I do not welcome Anything in my Life that desire becomes dependence or joy becomes addiction.
I yearn for the days I see people actually talking to each other, kids faces looking "Up" rather than at their thumbs, and a movie theater only lit by the movie instead of a myriad of tiny glowing screens.
Most of all I miss the visit by the bag lady that came to visit with her new toys, a smile and a Thank You. She actually was "real", spoke a common language and as mentioned said Thank you -vs- "No Problem".
Any way. Those days are Gone. I'm sort of glad I experienced them and can look back and smile. Many today have no memory of the bag lady or the milk man for that matter. Soon there will be stories of a person that actually came and put pieces of paper in a box outside your house Every Day like Santa Claus...... What? Who is Santa Claus........... Oh my, more time has passed than I thought.
Peace.

 

[cr6]

Smartphones aren't a necessity for most people. Unless you're a Dr on call, most of us can get by with a landline and checking our messages/emails when we get home. So to complain about technology doesn't make much sense. Nobody forces us to purchase a smartphone and there are just as many reliable dumbphones that will keep you connected for emergency purposes. I just don't get when people bash technology on a whole due to a couple of bad experiences. I didn't jump into the smartphone arena until at least 4-5 years after they started to become popular. I managed just fine without one. Sure I wasn't connected 24/7, but there are very few of us that actually NEED that 24/7 connection. Most people say they do, when in really their phone calls, emails and social media things can wait a couple hours until they get home.

S5 tap'n

 

[CaptainSS]

You are certainly entitled to your opinion as am I.
There are many aspects of "technology" that I personally find miraculous and life changing - cell phone technology doesn't happen to be one of them.
While it has been a force of change in our society it has not been for the positive IMO.
As for bashing technology because of a few bad experiences - You do not know me nor I you. I can assure you the depth of my philosophical leanings transcends "a few" run ins with Verizon.
Do I think Verizon is a Great American company? No I do not and I have a litany of reasons why I hold that opinion.
I have been in business for several decades and am qualified to hold the opinions I have and do not wish to try and change anyones mind if they hold differing opinions.
Great American companies Hold their Customers at the highest level of respect, they train and empower their employees to deliver outstanding customer service, they have long range views of their business model and they ensure their employees have skin in the game of the direction of the company.
There are many more nuances to a well run company, any company wishing to BE a great company would do well to study and incorporate those aspects in their daily operations no matter what product or service they deliver.
Anyway......

As I said. Differing opinions do not make one person wrong or another right and I certainly don't "get tired" of hearing people rail against mediocrity no matter what it's form.
Current day levels of performance and service in the arena of "cellular service" are - mediocre IMO.

 

[CaptainSS]

and BTW- In my business. I have No choice. I have to have a smart phone. If I did not have to have one - I would Not.

 

[Mustang02]

and BTW- In my business. I have No choice. I have to have a smart phone. If I did not have to have one - I would Not.

What business would that be? Did your job exist before smartphones? Just wondering.

 

[CaptainSS]

Yes.
As technology has "advanced" so has the way in which my business has been conducted Both in the ways the client has grown to expect but also how the demands of my suppliers (for lack of a better name).
When I started in 1987. It was pre- fax machine, voice mail, computer, service centers, etc.
All of that technology came on-line and sometimes within weeks from arrival it morphed into - expectation.
I remember first hearing of a fax machine and within a few months everybody was asking for your fax # as if magically everyone already had one and most did.
Now if you ask for a fax# many times you get a laugh before a number. Just not current technology anymore.
I have to have a device I can text/talk/take and send pictures/navigate AND count on ALL these functions without fail.
It's disconcerting to be so dependent IMO.

( I own an Insurance Brokerage Company)

 

[CaptainSS]

As predicted, I just spent the better part of this entire day (after about 5-6 hours WASTED on the phone with Verizon over CLNR #4) and guess what?
As if it wasn't already known - There are NO options in my area of Pennsyltucky. Wow.
I even went so far as to contact Straight Talk (what do I know) what a scam that is.

 

[cr6]

You mentioned a "hole" in the back of number 3, but what was wrong with their other 3 devices they've sent you. I looked through the thread real quick, and unless I missed it, you haven't really said.
....just wondering what started this all, and what was wrong with the other replacements, including #4?

S5 tap'n

 

[Sajo]

As predicted, I just spent the better part of this entire day (after about 5-6 hours WASTED on the phone with Verizon over CLNR #4) and guess what?
As if it wasn't already known - There are NO options in my area of Pennsyltucky. Wow.
I even went so far as to contact Straight Talk (what do I know) what a scam that is.

Sorry to hear about all your troubles with your phones and Verizon. That has to be extremely frustrating. Not to derail this thread but had to comment on the Pennsyl-tucky comment. I have not heard anyone else use that in a long time. I used to say that a lot in the Military when people asked where I was from. Not many people use that phrase. Very cool! Good luck with your next phone, I hope Verizon treats you right.

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[Mustang02]

Call the BBB. Rail Verizon against the wall. You are getting treated improperly.

We provide our sales force Ipads for their day to day jobs.

 

[CaptainSS]

Pretty much given up. About an hour ago I was on with my Wife so I could listen in on a ceremony my Son was being honored (had to work) phone started playing a cigar website commercial and then conference called a pizza shop.
I wouldn't even know where to start calling tech support.
Maybe I just need to buy a new phone.
I can't keep having stuff like this happen. Some of it is dangerous. Had it default to speaker phone a few times on the way to my ear. When it got there and I said "Hello" the other person almost blew my eardrum.